Chapter Zero [The Count's Son]

When we look back at history after the fact, we often find that under the rolling torrent of history, even the wisest leaders will inevitably have times when their minds are dizzy.

—"Chronicles of the Empire Chapter 35, Book 7 - Retrospective Reflections on the Age of Roland"

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It was a summer afternoon, and the scorching sun hanging in the sky was still radiating heat relentlessly. In order to welcome the upcoming triumphal ceremony, countless guards wearing bright red armor on the pier have surrounded the front of the port pier.

And just a hundred steps outside the pier, the soldiers of the scorched Imperial Capital Security Station had already exerted all their strength to eat. Many of their clothes were torn, their shiny epaulets were ripped off, their spirited hats were taken off, and even their boots were trampled off countless times.

To the helplessness of the 1,000 soldiers of the security station who were ordered to maintain order outside the port, they faced more than 50,000 enthusiastic citizens of the imperial capital.

Enthusiastic onlookers prepared flowers, cheers, applause – of course, many girls were even ready to offer their kisses and even chastity. Under such emotional turmoil, a thousand soldiers of the security station felt like a broken ship in the ocean, which could be overturned at any time.

At the moment, they envied the guards standing within the dock cordon, because they could leisurely line up the formations, playing with the brightest armor and weapons they had just issued, without worrying about being scratched by some fanatical citizen in the next second.

The purpose of paying these prices is only so that the flagship of the "Xth E

For this grand triumphal event, under the order of His Majesty Augustine VI, the great emperor of the empire, the section of the Lancang Grand Canal leading to the imperial capital was fully widened! And the empire paid 10,000 river transport workers for half a year, and the imperial treasury also paid nearly three million gold coins for this.

The purpose of paying these prices is only so that the flagship of the "Xth Expeditionary Fleet" of the empire, the "Dandong", can smoothly pass through the canal to the port outside the east gate of the imperial capital, and receive the cheers of all the people, so as to demonstrate the powerful force of the empire.

No one cares if it is worth paying such a price for a show-off in a situation.

Because the previous finance minister of the empire, who first raised strong objections, had been directly driven back to his hometown by His Majesty the Angry Emperor to retire. And the only option for the incoming chancellor of finance is how to rack his brains and squeeze this money out of the various expenditures of the imperial treasury as much as possible to satisfy the "happy old man".

Of course, the title "good old man" can only be buried deep in the heart of the chancellor of the exchequer, very deep, very deep ...

When the afternoon sun shone on the wide surface of the canal and the first sail shadows in the distance began to show their silhouettes, the crowd began to cheer uncontrollably.

As the giant warship on the river that was two hundred steps long slowly approached the port, the majestic silhouette of the battleship shocked all the citizens of the imperial capital who came to watch.

The flagship of the Empire's Sixth Expeditionary Fleet, "Danton", the pride of the Imperial Navy, the largest warship ever built by the Imperial Navy. In preparation for this grand welcome ceremony, the battleship has been thoroughly painted and renovated, the hull has been painted a daunting black, and in wave after wave of cheers, the Dandong is like a black monster slowly approaching the port, and a huge thorny flag on the mast is fluttering in the wind.

When the anchor was dropped, tens of thousands of citizens in the port were already boiling, countless hats were thrown into the sky, countless people stepped on their shoes, and countless people squeezed and injured their legs. And the poor vigilante soldiers can only shrink the cordon and shrink it again within the limits of their ability ...

Count Raymond, the commander of the Imperial Expeditionary Fleet, was standing on the bow deck hill at this moment, looking expressionlessly at the cheering crowd in the harbor.

The thirty-nine-year-old Imperial General of the First Rank, the Imperial Count, was now dressed in his most solemn costume, with a light armor covering his entire body, a bright red cloak behind him hunting in the wind, and two medals hanging on his chest - this was obtained when he participated in the expeditionary fleet on the previous two occasions. And there is no doubt that this triumph will earn him the third Order of the Empire.

Lord Count's gaze was a little distracted, his gaze focus did not stop on the cheering crowd in the port, and if you looked closely, you could find that Lord Count's brows seemed to be faintly wrinkled, and he seemed to be a little impatient.

Hell, this armor is too heavy and stupid!

Lord Count did not think that as a soldier on a naval fleet, he would need to wear such heavy armor to fight at sea. That's what the Army uses. As for wearing these medals, it was even more foolish in the count's heart. As if the nouveau riche was flaunting his wealth - the real aristocracy did not disdain to do so. He felt that such a move was very hi-status.

Moreover, the cheering crowd below was too noisy, and their cheering sound was like a huge wave in a tsunami, eroding Lord Count's already little patience left in waves.

Subconsciously glanced at the deck under his feet.

In order to cope with today's welcome ceremony, the Dandong was freshly painted three days ago, and there was no blood on the deck. The deck worn out in the expeditionary war has long been resurfaced, and the collision angle of the bow has been replaced with a new one ... Hell, those guys who like to shoot His Majesty the Emperor actually made the corner of the bow into a statue of His Majesty the Emperor himself, and it is said that this statue was personally made by a famous carving master of the empire a few days ago.

For this, the Imperial Navy also paid an additional ten thousand gold coins.

Mighty is mighty enough. But don't those fools know that when they encounter a battle at sea, after the battleship collides, the first thing to be destroyed is the collision angle of the bow?

In his opinion, this ten thousand gold coins were really spent in vain. The work of that master carver is even more practical than just finding a sharp wooden stake.

In fact, on a deeper level, Lord Raymond even thought from the bottom of his heart that organizing this so-called Xth Imperial Expeditionary Fleet was really a ridiculous and absurd wrong decision.

Since decades ago, the empire has begun to carry out "expeditions" to the South China Sea region again and again.

It is undeniable that there are countless islands in the South Sea, as if scattered pearls are scattered above the vast sea, where there are strange woods, there are savage and stupid indigenous tribes that are still stuck in the clan stage, there are gold, precious stones, spices, seafood.

However, Lord Count did not think that such an act as "taking a dozen huge warships to bully the small canoes of the natives" was an "expedition".

It was a complete plunder, a massacre, a bandit, an invasion, a **** robbery!

The count would not think there was anything wrong with that. The weak have historically been bullied by the strong, and the weak need to maintain a posture of submission to the strong. However, he believed that the mistake of the imperial policy towards Nanyang was that this so-called expedition was carried out too frequently, and the effect seemed to be weakening more and more.

In the early two or three expeditions, the powerful Imperial Navy was invincible in the South Seas, and when the whole ship of gold, gemstones and seafood spices was transported back, it once caused a sensation in the entire empire.

But after all, no matter how rich the granary is, it cannot withstand such frequent harvests. Excessive plunder caused the extinction of the indigenous tribes in the waters slightly closer to the South Seas, and the subsequent expeditionary forces had to go farther and farther away, and the extension of the route was a huge test for the supply of the fleet.

After all, the South Sea not only has those bullied natives, nor only those gold gems, but also sweltering weather, rapidly changing climate, terrible waves, and countless reefs, whirlpools, storms...

The transitional harvest quickly deserted the fertile fields that could have been the granary of the empire. After that, the distant collection was less and less each time. But ironically, the triumphal ceremony became grander and grander every time...

Count Raymond himself commanded three expeditions in recent years, which made this Lord Count gain a great reputation in Nanyang. This Imperial Admiral, Lord Earl, has a series of nicknames in Nanyang:

Robber! Butcher! Executioner! ... His hands were stained with indigenous blood, he was a notorious invader in the hearts of indigenous clans, demons who burned their homes and enslaved them.

Of course, Lord Count would not care about this, but the only thing that made him feel a little uneasy was that the excessive war of aggression had stimulated the development of these Nanyang natives in some ways, especially in terms of force. Even before his return this time, he had heard that in the far southernmost seas, some island natives had formed a so-called alliance to fight the endless plunder of the empire.

Fortunately, those troublesome things no longer had to be thought about by him. Because he knew very well that this was already his last expedition. Next, he will stay in the imperial capital, and if all goes well, he will get a prominent position in the imperial high command, and then mix for ten years and eight years, and when the current military minister retires, with the influence of his family, he will become the new military minister, and if he is a little luckier, he may be able to live the addiction of being the prime minister in the last years of his political career.

As for the expedition, fuck it. That was a headache for the next commander of the expeditionary fleet.

Even if those natives have evolved to be able to create magic cannons, it is not a problem for them to worry about.

In the cheers like a heat wave, Lord Count walked down the flagship deck in full view, and his feet finally stepped on the land of the imperial capital! He waved to the cheering crowd... It's just that this action is more like driving flies.

First, a civil servant dressed in court service came on board to read the commendation order of His Majesty the Emperor, and announced that the Lord Count would enter the palace early tomorrow morning to meet His Majesty the Emperor and receive the award at the same time.

If you get your wish, the political future is bright.

But then a servant in gray clothes squeezed up and whispered another news in Lord Count's ear, and this news made Count Raymond's mood sink to the bottom!

The message came from home.

The expedition was out for more than three years, the sea was vast, and the message transmission was inconvenient. Raymond didn't know what was going on at home right now.

The most important thing is his own wife. When he went on the campaign three years ago, his wife was close to labor, and now, he doesn't even know if he is giving birth to a son or a daughter!

The news from home was: it was the son.

However, the son who gave birth seems to be an idiot.

The news came almost so close that it knocked Lord Count out of the pinnacle of joy.

That's a little bit closer!

However, almost every dignitary of the imperial capital who came to greet him could see that the commander of the triumphant expeditionary force had a gloomy face to the point of collapse.